A teacher at a Church of England school has been banned from the teaching profession—for life—after the government’s Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found him guilty of engaging in “unprofessional behavior” during a lesson which focused on “honor killings.”
The redaction of all mention of Islam in the TRA ruling is truly sinister.
The TRA panel published its report on October 20, ruling that Alex Lloyd’s conduct was “unacceptable” because of how he addressed “honor killings,” “female genital mutilation,” and sarcastically called Islam a “religion of peace” in a discussion with pupils at The Bishop of Winchester Academy, in Bournemouth.
In a classroom discussion on “honor killings,” Lloyd, a science teacher and Head of Sixth Form, told Pupil A that “this was a serious matter which affected their culture specifically and that they should pay attention or using words to that effect,” the TRA judgment stated.
“Imagine this was your mum being killed,” the teacher is reported to have told “Pupil B.” (The report anonymized the students’ names.) Pupil B admitted, however, that he was giggling when it was his turn to read from the board, which may have resulted in Lloyd thinking that the students were laughing at the topic.
Lloyd was also accused of telling Pupil F that female genital mutilation was a form of honor-based violence and that it “happens exclusively in your culture.” He further told Pupil E that if she were living in Iran, she would have been killed for what she was wearing.
Pupils Offended by Teacher’s Remarks
Students complained that other pupils were “visibly upset” because their religion [Islam] had been “mocked” and that Lloyd’s observations on “honor killings” were “using racist stereotypes against a corner of us in the class,” making them “feel insecure.”
Pupil E stated that she could “visibly see the shock on Pupil F’s face” when Lloyd commented on female genital mutilation, “as that’s quite a sensitive topic.” The teacher is also alleged to have told the class that he would happily kill anyone who hurt his daughter(s).
The panel ruled that Lloyd’s comments “were targeted and reinforced discriminatory stereotypes, which did not form part of the learning material.” His conduct demonstrated a lack of tolerance and respect for the rights and beliefs of others, contrary to Fundamental British Values.
The TRA report found evidence of Lloyd’s good character. It noted that he “had good interactions with pupils and staff,” was a “nice teacher and good person,” and was “liked by many students.”
However, it also said that the TRA panel saw no evidence that Lloyd “was remorseful, or that he regretted his conduct,” but “sought to justify the comments he made to pupils during his lesson by saying they were factual when questioned during the school’s investigation.”
The Bishop of Winchester Academy accepted the decision, declaring in a statement that,“We acknowledge the outcome of the TRA hearing and support the decision that has been made. The individual concerned is no longer employed by the academy and has no involvement with our students or school community.”
“The welfare, safety, and education of our students remain our highest priority. We continue to uphold the highest professional and safeguarding standards expected of all staff,” it added.
Islam Not Named in Judgement
The 27-page TRA report redacted all references to Islam and Islamic cultures as the specific milieu of “honor killings” and “genital mutilation.” Still, there isn’t any doubt that Lloyd was talking about Islam given his comment about Iran and his use of the phrase “religion of peace.”
“The redaction of all mention of Islam in the TRA ruling is truly sinister,” Tim Dieppe, author of the book The Challenge of Islam: Understanding and Responding to Islam’s Increasing Influence in the UK, told Focus on Western Islamism. “The TRA ruling contains statements like: ‘Referring to [REDACTED] as a ‘Religion of Peace.’ Mr Lloyd was alleged to have been ‘mocking the [REDACTED], saying it was a peaceful religion, but saying that they have honor-based killings.’ Why is the TRA so afraid to mention the religion of Islam?”
“There is some truth in what Mr Lloyd said. All four schools of Sharia law advocate the death penalty for apostasy, which is a type of honor killing, for example,” Dieppe noted. “There is no attempt in the ruling to ascertain whether his statements were true,” Dieppe told FWI.
Dieppe explained the ruling was dangerously close to imposing a blasphemy law:
There is no attempt in the ruling to ascertain whether his statements were true. The focus is on the offense allegedly caused to pupils by his statements. This kind of focus leads precisely to an Islamic blasphemy code whereby teachers will be afraid to express any critical ideas or comments about Islam.
Commenters on social media questioned Lloyd’s firing for anti-Islamic comments.
“So, teacher Alex Lloyd gets sacked for not agreeing with honor killings? And educating girls on what life for women is like in Iran. Let’s hope some of these girls who claimed their religion was mocked look back one day and realize he was right,” Elaine Walker posted on X.
“A teacher can’t even speak honestly about global realities without losing their career. Britain has replaced truth with fear,” the British Intel X account run by a journalist noted.
Sociologist Majid Mohammadi commended Lloyd as “the teacher of the year for speaking truth and being fired for it.”
